NIA Clinical Core Laboratory and Biorepository (CCLB)

Josephine Egan , M.D., Chief

Chee Chia, M.D., Associate Research Physician, Deputy Clinical Director

Giovanna Fantoni, Ph.D. , Facility Head

CCLB supports clinical investigation by assisting with those aspects of experimental design that deal with acquiring laboratory data and, more recently, their interpretation. CCLB also facilitates research from individual NIA investigators that require selected clinical research-quality assays. The CCLB processes, labels, catalogs, and stores clinical research samples in the Biorepository, and distributes them to research laboratories around the world, in accordance with College of American Pathology guidelines and current human subject regulatory guidelines. Working in close collaboration with the Manager of CRC, the CCLB has implemented new procedures to decrease the time required for sample retrieval, which now occurs within days. CCLB also provides a dependable service for DNA/RNA extraction of clinical specimens. Additional laboratory services provided by the Diabetes Section, CCLB and the CRC are: (1) Simoa HD-X Analyzer™: a bead-based technology; flexible, robust, and ultra-sensitive immunoassay platform for measuring up to 10-plex biomarkers in diverse matrices, (2) ELISA and RIAs of various hormones (insulin, C-peptide, adiponectin, leptin, growth hormone, testosterone), cytokines (CRP, IL-6, TNFs, and their receptors), (3) Glucose determination from oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT) on all BLSA subjects and insulin tolerance testing (ITT) in translational studies, (4) The CCLB is certified in the 11k SomaScan Assay, employing the advanced SomaLogic platform for high-throughput, high-plex proteomics. This innovative technology can quantify 11,000 proteins from 55uL of various sample types, including plasma, serum, CSF, and urine, using SOMAers—highly specific and sensitive single-stranded DNA aptamers. Distinct from antibodies, SOMAers' specificity is rigorously validated, ensuring reliable reproducibility with coefficients of variation at 5% and below. Leveraging our biorepository in longitudinal studies enhances our potential to identify age-related predictive models, discover novel proteomic biomarkers, and pinpoint therapeutic targets, advancing drug development efforts.